News of the day from around the globe, July 6

Chronicle News Services

Published
2:33 pm PDT, Friday, July 6, 2018

1Syria fighting: Government forces on Friday reached a key border crossing with Jordan and raised the national flag for the first time in years. State news agency SANA said the capture of the Naseeb border crossing took place after a deal was reached between rebels and Russian mediators to end the violence in southern Syria. The capture of the crossing is another victory for President Bashar Assad’s forces, who have regained control of most of the area’s cities from insurgents with the help of allies Russia and Iran. Rebels seized control of the crossing in 2015, cutting a major lifeline for Syrian exports and disrupting a major trade route between Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and oil-rich gulf counties.

2Thailand drownings: The death toll rose to at least 33 Friday after two boats carrying tourists capsized the day before in 16-foot waves near the resort island of Phuket, officials said. Twenty-three others remained missings. One of the boats, a double-decker cruise ship, was carrying 105 people — including 93 tourists, all from China — when it capsized Thursday after leaving Koh Racha, a popular snorkeling spot. The second boat sank off Koh Mai Thon, a small resort island near Phuket. There were 42 people aboard, all of whom were rescued, officials said. The boats had gone out to sea despite a severe weather warning.

3Britain poisoning: Police scoured sections of Salisbury and Amesbury in southwestern England on Friday, searching for a vial feared to be contaminated with traces of the deadly nerve agent Novichok. More than 100 officers searched for clues in a race to understand how two local people were exposed to a nerve agent that was produced in the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Investigators believe the couple may have come in contact with a contaminated vial or other item discarded in a public place after a March nerve agent attack on ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in Salisbury. British officials blamed the Skripals’ poisoning on Russia. The Kremlin denies any involvement. The two new victims are in critical condition.

4Mexico extradition: The federal attorney general’s office announced Friday that accused drug lord Damaso Lopez was extradited from the border city of Ciudad Juarez to the United States. Lopez is facing charges of conspiring to distribute cocaine and commit money laundering and could face life imprisonment if convicted. He was a top aide to drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and helped him escape from a Mexican prison in 2001. Later, he battled Guzman’s son for control of the Sinaloa cartel after the kingpin was captured in 2016.

5Pakistan conviction: Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was convicted and sentenced to prison in absentia Friday, in a verdict that is likely to further disrupt an already chaotic campaign for national elections this month. The sentence, 10 years in prison and a fine of $10.6 million, came almost a year after Pakistan’s Supreme Court removed Sharif from office and less than five months after the court barred him from holding office for life. The case stemmed from the Panama Papers leak that disclosed expensive and undeclared property owned by the Sharif family in London. Sharif’s daughter, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, and her husband, Muhammad Safdar, were also convicted, with Maryam Sharif sentenced to seven years in prison and Safdar sentenced to one year. Members of the family said before the verdict that they would appeal any convictions.